Ecosystem

An ecosystem is defined as the living community of plants and animals in any area along with the non-living components of the environment such air, water and soil of a particular geographical area.

Ecosystems are classified on various aspects. The classification of ecosystems is:

On the basis of Habitat. (Global Level)

• Terrestrial Ecosystem- Terrestrial ecosystems are those that have living and non-living elements interacting on land.
• Aquatic Ecosystems- Aquatic ecosystems are those which have living and non-living elements interacting in aquatic setting.

On the basis of Bio-geographical Realms (Sub-Global Level)

• Eurasia is called the Palaearctic realm
• South and South East Asia is called the Oriental Realm
• North America is Nearctic Realm
• South America forms the Neotropical realm
• Africa forms the Ethiopian Realm
• Australia is called the Australian realm.

On the basis of Bio geographical regions (In India)

• The Himalayas
• The Gangetic plains
• The highlands of central India
• The Western and Eastern Ghats
• The Andaman and Nicobar
• The western deserts
• The Deccan plateau

On the basis of structurally and Functionally identifiable ecosystems (Local Level)

• Forests
• Grasslands
• Rivers
• Mangroves
• Seashores